Power catamarans have seen a surge in popularity, growing both in size and appeal. These cruise-focused yachts offer homelike comfort, fuel efficiency and user-friendly operation, making them a favorite among avid travelers. Their popularity extends to the bareboat charter market for the same reasons.
In this article, we explore the world’s top power catamarans, ranging from a 36-footer ideal for a cruising couple to a 78-footer perfect for entertaining friends and family. The propulsion options are diverse, including outboards, diesel inboards, hybrids, and even all-solar setups.
Top Luxury Power Catamarans
The following power catamarans are all vessels we’ve reviewed. They are listed in no particular order.
- Fountaine Pajot MY44: A family-oriented cat suitable for long-range cruising and aimed at owner-operators.
- Silent Yachts 60: This is a catamaran that can cruise comfortably for long distances using emissions-free solar-electric propulsion.
- Horizon PC74: With interior and deck space like a much larger vessel, the PC74 is perfect for cruising the Bahamas and Caribbean.
- Aquila 36: This beefy 36-footer is an outboard-powered, express-cruiser-style catamaran.
- Lagoon Seventy 8 Powercat: A spacious design, this vessel fits the volume of a 130-foot-long monohull into just 78 feet of length overall.
- Horizon PC68: This cat has a stable ride, long range, volume to spare and intriguing layout options.
- Two Oceans 555: An elegantly simple yet luxurious 55-foot custom with the space and amenities of a much larger vessel.
- Lagoon 630: From its open salon to its spacious decks, the Lagoon is a comfortable and luxurious platform.
- Fountaine Pajot MY5: A midsize cruiser with serious big-boat space for family and friends.
- Prestige Yachts M8: The voluminous 65-footer lets owners customize onboard spaces.
- Aquila 47 Molokai: Calling all anglers: This cat has 60-plus-knot speed and is set up for serious bluewater adventure.
Fountaine Pajot MY44
The Fountaine Pajot MY44, a creation of Italian architect Pierangelo Andreani and French designer Daniel Andrieu, has a main deck that’s open from the aft-deck seating all the way forward to the starboard helm station. The sense of spaciousness is significant, for several reasons. First, four glass panels aft can all slide to port, creating an indoor-outdoor space with the aft deck and salon. In the salon, 32-inch-high windows extend for 12 feet down the sides of the yacht, with three sections per side, bringing in natural light along with the three forward panes that comprise the windshield. Finally, 6-foot-6-inch headroom provides vertical clearance, with a 21-foot-7-inch beam that adds interior roominess while keeping the yacht stable.
Quick Specifications
| Length Overall: | 44’ |
| Maximum Beam: | 21’5” |
| Fuel Capacity: | 530 gal. |
| Freshwater Capacity: | 184 gal. |
| Draft: | 6’6” |
| Displacement: | 32,850 lb. |
Silent Yachts 60
Solar panels, ocean-crossing range and self-sufficiency define the electric Silent-Yachts 60 power catamaran. If there was any question that the “Tesla moment” has arrived in yachting, the Silent 60 clearly provides a positive response. Consider, for a moment, crossing oceans in silence at 5 to 6 knots without consuming a drop of fuel and never needing to plan your course between fuel stops. Imagine sitting at anchor and running the air conditioning all night, not to mention all the galley appliances plus the washer-dryer, without the hum or fumes from a genset.
| Length Overall: | 62’ |
| Maximum Beam: | 29’6” |
| Draft: | 4’5” |
| Displacement: | 68,000 lb. |
Horizon PC74
As founder and director of The Powercat Company, a Horizon Power Catamarans distributor, Stuart Hegerstrom had long believed that catamaran builders needed to design their yachts to more stylish standards.
“The boats were very boxy,” he says, based on his years of experience with cats in the charter market. He and his partner, Richard Ford, asked Horizon to produce models that had high-end finishes and looked good inside and out.
The Horizon team brought in mega-yacht designer JC Espinosa to work with its own craftsmen. The result aboard the Horizon PC74 is a catamaran with exterior styling, layout and functionality that should appeal to private and charter owners alike.
| Length Overall: | 73’9” |
| Maximum Beam: | 28’3” |
| Fuel Capacity: | 2,000 gal. |
| Freshwater Capacity: | 400 gal. |
| Draft: | 6’ |
| Displacement: | 163,140 lb. |
Aquila 36
The Aquila 36 is a departure from her sisterships in that she is an outboard-powered, express-cruiser-style catamaran, but she also adheres to MarineMax’s philosophies.
With a single main living level from bow to stern and a beam of 14 feet 7 inches, the Aquila 36 is like a bowrider on steroids. She has seating that can handle 20 adults for outings and barbecues, and there are two staterooms below, one in each hull, for family weekending. The staterooms have nearly queen-size berths, en suite heads, stowage and 6-foot-6-inch headroom.
| Length Overall: | 36’ |
| Maximum Beam: | 14’7” |
| Fuel Capacity: | 356 gal. |
| Freshwater Capacity: | 200 gal. |
| Draft: | 2’ (engines trimmed up) |
| Displacement: | 21,572 lb. |
Lagoon Seventy 8 Powercat
Lagoon is a division of Groupe Beneteau, the world’s largest builder of sailing yachts, and the Lagoon Seventy 8 Powercat is a developmental sistership of its Seventy 7 super sailing cat. The Seventy series yachts are built at Construction Navale Bordeaux in France, which had to add a new yard to construct these catamarans because they require separate stern molds for the power and sail versions.
| Length Overall: | 78’1” |
| Maximum Beam: | 36’1” |
| Fuel Capacity: | 2,246 gal. |
| Freshwater Capacity: | 422 gal. |
| Draft: | 4’2” |
| Displacement: | 131,153 lb. |
Horizon PC68
Multihull yachts ride differently than monohulls, often counteracting the sea’s motion for a smoother, more stable ride. On the Horizon PC68, sharp hull entries make head seas seem gentle, and a Humphree stabilization system with blades reduces roll. Horizon uses SCRIMP construction for resin saturation that maximizes strength with an 111,112-pound displacement. And with a 5-foot-4-inch draft, the PC68 invites island cruising.
| Length Overall: | 60’9” |
| Maximum Beam: | 24’6” |
| Fuel Capacity: | 1,000 gal. |
| Freshwater Capacity: | 250 gal. |
| Draft: | 4’9” |
| Displacement: | 83,467 lb. |
Two Oceans 555
With 27-knot speed, house-like volume, an on-deck master and top-tier tech, the Two Oceans 555 is a formidable power catamaran. Dave Jirikovic of HMY Yachts was on a quest. The sales broker was looking for the meanest, nastiest patch of Gulf Stream he could find to show a potential client what the Two Oceans 555 power cat could handle. And just as he had intended to show us, the broad-shouldered power cat didn’t even notice. He even dropped the single-lever throttles back to idle and left the 25-foot-wide Two Oceans 555 beam-on to another set of square-edged seas. The 55-footer brushed that off too. Jirikovic tried quartering into the seas—never a happy angle for catamarans—and the yacht drowsed through them.
| Length Overall: | 55’6” |
| Maximum Beam: | 25’ |
| Fuel Capacity: | 750 gal. |
| Freshwater Capacity: | 200 gal. |
| Displacement: | 49,600 lb. |
Lagoon 630
Fitted with the optional twin 300-horsepower Volvo Penta D4 diesels, the Lagoon 630 MY burns only 1.64 gph total at 6 knots, giving a theoretical range of 2,952 nautical miles with standard tankage of 793 gallons. Hull No. 1 had an optional 502-gallon tank, giving it transatlantic range.
Luxury, stability and economy are all hallmarks of Lagoon’s return to luxury motor yachts. If you can take a ride, it will be worth your time.
| Length Overall: | 64’ |
| Maximum Beam: | 32’10” |
| Fuel Capacity: | 793 gal. |
| Freshwater Capacity: | 254 gal. |
| Draft: | 3’11” |
| Displacement: | 70,097 lb. |
Fountaine Pajot MY5
The flybridge deck on the Fountaine Pajot MY5 is a standout feature, offering virtually unobstructed 360-degree ocean views and an elevated beach club vibe. Aft of the off-center starboard helm is a spacious area perfect for entertaining, complete with a wet bar, refrigeration center, and ample seating. It’s the most popular space aboard according to the builder. And if the weather turns for the worse, a second helm station in the saloon allows the skipper to pilot the MY5 in climate-controlled comfort.
| Length Overall: | 42’4” |
| Maximum Beam: | 19’9” |
| Fuel Capacity: | 372 gal. |
| Freshwater Capacity: | 112 gal. |
| Draft: | 3’7” |
| Displacement: | 46,000 lb. |
Prestige Yachts M8
How fitting it was that Prestige Yachts introduced its new M-Line flagship, the M8, at Portopiccolo, a picturesque yachting village outside Trieste, Italy. Formerly a quarry, the cliff-side area had been chiseled into a clean site rife with eye-catching vistas, much like the French builder’s 65-foot power catamaran and its nearly 3,000 square feet of usable real estate.
| Length Overall: | 65’ |
| Maximum Beam: | 29’ |
| Fuel Capacity: | 978 gal. |
| Freshwater Capacity: | 224 gal. |
| Draft: | 5’5” |
| Displacement: | 98,379 lb. |
Aquila 47 Molokai
With every boat, there’s an origin story. In the case of the Aquila 47 Molokai power catamaran, it starts with MarineMax, which saw people renting boats for bareboat charters. MarineMax Vacations was born. After experimenting with several production yachts, the company decided to build its own: the Aquila line, designed for charter as well as for sale to owner-operators.
| Length Overall: | 49’4” |
| Maximum Beam: | 14’7” |
| Fuel Capacity: | 1,048 gal. |
| Draft: | 2’2” (engines trimmed up) |
| Displacement: | 22,818 lb. |
